Reddit Users Raise $200,000+ for Charity for Colbert Rally

Internet communities are often derided as cesspools for derogatory comments or juvenile digital pranks. But, like other social spaces, they can and do evolve. Reddit's users have formed into a cohesive and vibrant social network that can even mobilizes to produce positive outcomes out in the "real world." Most recently, they raised real money for charity in honor of Stephen Colbert's "truthiness" rally, Time reports.

Instead of simply using these sites to pester Colbert, fans decided to get some attention by doing some good. In only one day, the Restoring Truthiness movement has donated $100,000 and counting to educational charities through DonorsChoose.org, an organization of which Colbert is a board member. The money came so quickly that DonorsChoose.org's server broke, and Reddit users shattered Hillary Clinton's previous record of raising $29,945 for DonorsChoose.

Update, 2:11 PM: Commenters note that the amount of money raised has far surpassed $100,000 as stated in the original headline. As of the time of this update, Reddit users have donated $224,443. Track their progress at DonorsChoose.org.

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Jared Keller is a journalist based in New York. He has written for Bloomberg Businessweek, Pacific Standard, and Al Jazeera America, and is a former associate editor for The Atlantic.